Toughest day from Doma to Taybeh.James was taken to hospital by George for his Rabies injection.Habib took him past the Bedouins wild dogs.James was understandably wary.It was after he left the terrain got worse & worse.Rocky hill after rocky ravine after rocky hill.Its not so much the height as the concentration & difficulty of finding a decent foot grip.Eventually,it became too much for Patsy whose left leg ghave in.We had to arrange transport to our destination.
We found James at Al Mugharayir in a barber shop with half the male population of the village (females are seen to & from shops only).They insisted we all have a cup of coffee.The legendary Palestinian hospitality is absolutely true.In general you would struggle to find a nicer bunch of people.
We reached Taybeh & it is the most beautiful village we have seen in the Holy Land.
We had a very interesting Guided Tour from Keries & Nader.
Taybeh is Ephraim visited by the Lord after He had raised Lazarus & before he entered Jerusalem.All the surrounding villages were Christian until Sala-ad-din & his Army arrived.As resistance brought a swift & final solution conversion or payment of a 'religious' Tax were the options all the other Christian villages were too poor to pay so became muslims.Ephraim people slaughtered their sheep & made a feast for the troops ,welcomed Salah-ad-din & billetted his troops.So he allowed them to retain their Ancient Faith & gave them the name "good people" ie Taybeh.The people have retained Christanity through conquest by Marmaluke,Turk,in the mandate & Israeli rule.
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